Favorites
by pathogenicmicroorganism
Summary: James receives a shock as he comes homes to Lily and Harry...please read and review thank you


Favorites

Lily Evans Potter, happily married to one James Potter for more than two years now, was brimming with joy as she rocked her baby, little Harry, one night. She cooed as her little boy looked up at her curiously with his beautiful green eyes, eyes that she was proud to say he got from her, but the rest of his features he inherited from his father, from the shape of the head to the color of his hair.

He even got James' obnoxious habit of keeping her up late at night every night.

Not that she really mind.

"My darling," she cooed, "you are just too cute. But it's really time to sleep, sweetheart."

Harry blew her one tiny little bubble from his mouth.

Lily wanted to melt right then and there.

"I know you still want to play sweetheart," she said, rocking him slightly, "But we can't have mummy's favorite man missing any sleep."

It was then that Lily heard a noise that came from the door. She turned sharply around, a slightly concerned look on her face, looking around the room quickly, and sighed with relief hen she saw her husband at the door.

"Oh, James," she said, smiling, "it's you. I thought -" She broke off, not daring finishing exactly what she thought.

James was a thorn in her spine for the most part of their Hogwarts years. He and his best friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew has spent the better part of their life ruining hers, and countless others alongside her, but somehow, they manage to soothe teacher's tempers with their so called charm, grades and over all ability to manipulate people.

Lily, when she was younger, had vowed never to go out with any of them, more specifically, James, who didn't give up effort on both annoying and amusing her, and each time they meet, he never fails to ask her out on a date and always messes up his hair, his futile attempt of either trying to keep it under control or to make him look cool. Keyword? Futile.

That was then, and Lily, on their seventh and final year at Hogwarts, had finally agreed to date him, after genuinely finding out that he really was a nice guy and not the toerag that she had always thought he is.

Their courtship had turned to marriage and their marriage had produced little baby Harry, who was currently yawning in Lily's arms. Lily smiled at her little boy. He is so beautiful, she thought, then looked at James.

She gave him a slightly confused look. He was standing at the doorway, looking shocked at her, his mouth slightly open.

Lily smiled at him. "Er, James, sweetie," she said, "it's not like you haven't seen me carry Harry before, right?"

This shook James off his shocked state and walked towards her, giving her a slight kiss. Then he looked at Harry, and pressed a finger in his cheek. Harry grabbed the finger and started to play with it.

Lily just wanted to swoon, but she might drop Harry, so she held it in, but did grin awfully big. She turned to James. "James," she said, "why the shocked look earlier?"

James, still looked slightly shocked to her. James frowned at her, and said, "What did you say to Harry earlier?"

Lily looked confused. "What did I say?"

James' frowned deepened. "You don't have a bad memory and you know it!" he said, still his finger with Harry, who is currently putting it in his mouth. "What did you say to Harry?"

Lily didn't see why what she said to Harry affected him like this. "Er," she said, "I said that he needed sleep."

"After that."

"I said, we can't have mummy's favorite man missing any - oh." she said, comprehension dawning in her face.

James' frown turned into a pout. "Exactly," he said dismissively, his pout increasing.

The sides of Lily's mouth twitched a bit. She found this extremely amusing. "James," she said, "you don't really - "

"I'm your favourite!" he exclaimed, shaking Harry a bit, who laughed now at the currently wagging finger in front of him.

Lily smiled. "Oh look James, you made him smile!" she said. Harry grabbed James finger again and shook it slightly, laughing like the baby that he is.

James looked at Harry and smiled. "That's nice," he said, then turned again to Lily, and promptly pouted again. "You said that I was your favorite," he said, again, his pouting growing deeper.

"James, sweetie," she said calmly, fighting hard not to laugh, "you realize that you're fighting the spot of favorite with a baby, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

Lily grinned at him wickedly. "You'll never win."

James gasped, but couldn't take a step back, because that would mean taking his finger away from Harry, who was still having the time of his life playing with it. Besides, Harry still had it in his mouth. "But," he said, looking like he was thinking of something to say quickly, "I was here longer!"

Lily smiled at him.

"That's not fair!" he said, "I've known you longer, I went through all the times you said no to me until finally you said yes, how come I'm not your favorite! And when you married me, you said I was your favorite! You said, you promised!"

Lily thought he was adorable, fighting like a five year old who was trumped by someone cuter, and all the attention was going to said someone. "No offense, James," she said, "but Harry did come out of me, that kinda trumps that."

James now had taken Harry from Lily's arms and softly rocking him. Harry looked delighted giving him a sleepy toothless grin, and then yawning widely, looked curiously at his father. "It's not fair," James said to his son, "you always get the best things."

Lily looked at her family, at her husband, her son. It was perfect. They were perfect. Perfectly happy, perfectly satisfied, even if James is currently on the tirade about not being favorites, which he was still ranting at the curious looking Harry, who oddly enough, looked interested enough in what he has to say.

"I mean," continued James, "you've only been with us for almost a year now and I've known your mother since we were eleven, and it took me seven whole years to finally convince her that I'm not a complete toerag, and it took you what, no time at all! She loved you the moment you came out of her, how did you do it? And now she tells us that you're his favorite, and where will I be left after that, on the side while she shows you off and stuff?"

"That's enough, James," said Lily, who was still highly amused by all of this. Lily took Harry from her husband and gave him a soft kiss, before he left to get changed. Lily waited for Harry to fall asleep. She thought it was odd, it almost looked like Harry was listening to the rant of his father. Lily thought that this was ridiculous, babies couldn't understand what James had been saying. But for one fleeting minute, Lily played with the thought that her son could be a super genius who can understand adults at the age of eleven months and seven days.

About twenty minutes later, Harry had finally fallen into a deep slumber, Lily kissed him goodnight softly and left the room, the door slightly ajar.

Lily went straight to their bedroom, where James was sitting in the bed, waiting for her to come back, with the same pout in his face.

"James," said Lily, it was less amusing now, "It's not that funny anymore."

"I know there's nothing funny about it," he answered, "but I still want to be your favorite."

"What does it matter anyway," she said, sitting beside him, "you're both my men."

"But I want to be your favorite man."

Lily didn't answer him, instead went to massage his shoulders and back. After a few more minutes, she spoke. "You know," she said, "Harry's gonna look just like you when he grows up."

"But he has your eyes," said James, "people are always gonna say that he has Lily's eyes."

Lily smiled from behind him.

James looked at her, and almost begging expression in his face. "Can't you have two favorites?"

Lily looked at him. "James..."

"Please.."

Lily sighed, then smiled. "All right, fine," she said, "two favorites, you and Harry."

James then grinned widely. "Yeah," he said, "But I knew you first."

"James -!"

But whatever she had to say was cut off by James kiss that made her fall backwards, in the center of the bed, and continued on late into the night.


End file.
